


Not Bad At All

by phantisma



Category: Firefly, Stargate SG-1
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-06-16
Updated: 2006-06-16
Packaged: 2017-11-13 04:08:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/499293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phantisma/pseuds/phantisma
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam, Daniel and Teal'c find themselves propelled 500 years into the future, where the crew of the Serenity comes to their aid, and they have to contend with the notion that there is no going home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Bad At All

**Author's Note:**

> Kinda pre-Serenity (the movie), and season 8-ish (SG-1), no real spoilers...I think I finally found my Mal voice...which is happy making in its own right!

For the third morning in a row, Daniel woke to a warm body wrapped around his, a tousled red head on his shoulder. He wasn’t complaining. It wasn’t anything he had planned, but then neither was any of the rest, though Sam had made a convincing argument regarding relativity, the effects of time travel and his ability to find trouble in a locked, empty closet.

He stretched, trying not to disturb his partner, as his body woke and announced its various needs. It had been a late night, with too much sake and too little sleep. His head hadn’t announced the impending hangover, but he knew that when he moved to relieve his rather insistent bladder, his head would attack him for his folly.

He slipped out from under Kaylee, settling the sheet around her shoulders as he searched with one hand for the pants he vaguely remembered discarding near the end of the bed the night before. By the time he found them his need for relief was stronger than his need to also find a shirt or shoes. He stumbled out of the tent and into the just past noon brightness. The makeshift latrine was thankfully nearby and he danced across the hot sand to get to it, moaning audibly as he drained off the night’s debauchery.

He could hear the sounds of sparring, even in the heat that he guessed was nearing the 100 degree mark. He figured it was Teal’c and Jayne…again. Jayne wasn’t letting go of the competition until he won a round. Daniel shook his head, regretting it as his brain protested.

With a sigh that was half about the futility of Jayne’s attempts, and half about the entire predicament they had come to find themselves in, Daniel hot-footed back to his tent, ducking under the canvas to find Kaylee smiling up at him. That smile had been his downfall…well, that and her hands. “Mornin’,” she said, half sitting up and shaking her hair out of her eyes.

“Morning.” He perched on the edge of the bed and reached out to caress her cheek.

“You okay?” She scooted closer, resting her chin on his shoulder.

He nodded, though he frowned. “Headache.”

She laughed and tousled his hair. “Lightweight.”

He chuckled in agreement. Too much sake was a personal determination, one Kaylee didn’t share. “Not fair.” He poked her nose playfully. “You drank twice as much, why are you so chipper?”

“Cause I got you.” She pulled him toward her and kissed him, her hands roaming over his naked torso, sliding down his belly to dip into his pants.

“You’re insatiable.” Daniel said once her lips released him. She circled around to straddle his lap, pushing him until he was laying underneath her. The blankets fell into a puddle beside him, her bare skin warm where it touched his.

“Yep.” She wriggled herself against him, smiling when she got the response she was after.

“Does the word hangover mean nothing?”

She leaned into him, her lips kissing up his belly and chest until she was laying atop him. “Nothing a little lovin’ can’t fix,” she whispered.

“That include my ship?”

Daniel closed his eyes as Kaylee’s face clouded over. “Ever hear a knockin’, Cap’n?” She rolled off of Daniel, managing to mostly cover herself with a blanket before she and Daniel both looked to the doorway of the tent.

“Ain’t got no doors to be knockin’ on, Kaylee. But I do got a ship what’s grounded. Day’s awastin’ and you’re still in bed.”

Kaylee sighed. “Can’t do much more till ‘Nara gets back with the inversion coil, Cap’n. Fiddlin’ mostly.”

“Then get to fiddlin’. We been grounded too long.”

“Yes, Cap’n.”

“Sorry to interrupt, Dr. Jackson.” Malcom Reynolds looked uncomfortable now that he was done scolding his mechanic. Daniel held up his hands.

“No, you’re right. The ship comes first, Captain.”

Kaylee pouted at them both, but reached for her dress and pulled it over her head. “Right.” The captain looked like he wanted to say something else, but changed his mind and walked away, dropping the canvas flap as Kaylee climbed out of bed in search of her boots.

“Sorry.” Daniel offered, but she only glared at him. He could tell she wasn’t really angry, but wanted him to feel like she was. He caught her hand and pulled her to him, landing her in his lap and kissing her passionately. “I’ll make it up to you later. When my head isn’t threatening to explode.”

She brightened up. “Promise?”

He kissed her again, his tongue sliding over her lips like he was tasting her. “Mmm…Promise.”

 

Daniel found the rest of his clothes and trudged out of the tent, circling around the two big men sparring to find Sam waiting for him at their makeshift kitchen with a cup of coffee. “You are my hero.” Daniel said, cradling the cup to him and taking his first sip.

She laughed and sat at the table, lifting her own cup. “You look like hell.”

“Thank you.” He sat opposite her, scratching at the several days growth on his face. He couldn’t remember the last time he had shaved. “Any progress?” He waved a hand at the computer in front of her and she shook her head.

“Not really.” She exhaled loudly and sipped her coffee. “What about you?”

“Well…I think I’m getting a sense of the history. I don’t think it’s going to help us though.”

She made a face and poked at her keyboard. “I’ve salvaged everything I could from Serenity’s sensor readings. As near as I can tell, we just appeared . There were no power surges, no anomalies…other than how in the hell they keep that thing in the air in the first place.”

Daniel sighed and stared into his coffee cup. It had been more than a month. They had been testing a new hyperdrive theory when something had gone very wrong. The original surge had killed Sam’s second on the project instantly. Daniel had stepped in to try to help, but he wasn’t the kind of help she needed. The next thing they knew, they were hurtling toward a planet, this planet, with only Serenity between them and oblivion.

Serenity was limping its way planetside too, wounded in some firefight a few systems away, and looking for a quiet backwater to touch down and make repair. Mal and his crew had probably saved the lives of the three of them, first with a daring rescue attempt that had managed to let them control their entry just enough to not burn up in the atmosphere, then with medical attention.

Unfortunately, Serenity took on even more damage in the effort, and if Daniel had learned anything at all about the captain of the odd little ship it was that the ship was his life. “Kaylee says that Serenity is just a little quirky.” Daniel offered, trying to cover his smirk.

“Is that what she says?” Sam smiled. “That isn’t what I heard last night.”

“Sam!”

“Is that coffee?”

They both looked up to find the young doctor beside them, looking bleary eyed and sleep deprived. “Yes, yes it is. Here.” Daniel reached for the pot by the fire and poured some into a beat up tin mug before passing it to the young man. “You look beat.”

Simon nodded, gulping down coffee before glancing over his shoulder. “My sister didn’t sleep well last night. When she doesn’t sleep, neither do I.”

“I think it’s nice, how you take care of her.” Sam said.

Simon shrugged and sighed. “She’s had a bad time. She deserves more.”

There was the sound of screaming, followed by the appearance of Teal’c, escorting Jayne toward them. “I believe his nose is broken.” Teal’c said, though it wasn’t necessary. Blood gushed out of Jayne’s nose and the big man looked woozy as he took a seat beside Daniel.

“A doctor’s work is never done.” Simon sighed and moved around to look at Jayne. “Yep, likely broken. Let’s get you into the infirmary.”

Teal’c grabbed a mug and poured the last of the coffee into it before sitting with Sam and Daniel. “The good news is that I think Kaylee and I can get us flight worthy again.” Sam said. “Maybe not the experimental hyperdrive, but at least flying.”

Daniel shook his head. “Yes, but where would we go?” He looked down at the deep topaz of his arms from the desert sun. This planet wasn’t ideal, but from what he’d learned of the rest of the galaxy in which they found themselves wasn’t a lot better. “Earth is uninhabitable. Everyone we know is dead. We’re 500 years into the future here, Sam.”

She nodded. “I know. I’m just saying, flight worthy is better than living out our lives here in this desert.”

He conceded the point and set his empty cup aside. “I’m going to go see if I can make some use of the recordings Inara gave me before she left.”

Sam closed her laptop and stood. “I’ll go see if I can give Kaylee a hand…or get her to show me how she keeps that engine turning…if I can understand half of what she says.”

Daniel smirked, thankful that his knack for languages had served to help him understand the oddly colloquial speech of the crew. The Chinese had thrown him the first time he’d heard it, but as he’d dug through the history he’d come to understand it.

What escaped him was the complete lack of mention of the Stargate, the Goaul’d, or any of the discoveries and peoples they had met over the years. It was as if the Stargate had never been found, and Earth had simply self-destructed.

 

The sound of an approaching shuttle drew him outside several hours later, along with everyone else. “Its Zoe,” the captain said, shielding his eyes against the late afternoon suns. The shuttle settled to a landing beside the larger ship and only moments later the dark skinned warrior woman and her very pale, red-headed husband were striding toward the group, arms filled with boxes.

They came to a stop and Zoe set her stack of boxes on the ground. “Bottom one’s the parts you wanted Colonel. Middle’s for you Kaylee. I hope Inara has better luck with that coil, there wasn’t one to be found on that rock.”

Kaylee palmed Daniel’s butt as she scooted past him, pulling her crate free from the stack and digging into it. The top box, Zoe hefted and thrust at Jayne. “Make yourself useful.”

“What’s this?”

“Food. Meat and everything. Cook us something.”

“Meat? Jayne pulled the lid off the box. “Hey, why do I have to be the gorram cook?”

“Because Zoe asked so sweetly.” Mal responded. “Gotta say Colonel, we’re getting spoiled having you around with your pretty trinkets to trade.”

“Well, Captain you better not get too used to it, we’re about out.”

“Then I guess we better be fixin up some ships and makin ‘em fly so as we can work.”

“Still need the coil, Cap’n.” Kaylee said, hugging her box to her chest.

“Why don’t you show me the system one more time. Maybe I can help figure out a work around.” Sam said and Kaylee smiled brightly.

“Two heads is always better ‘an one, I always say.” Kaylee said.

“Unless’en that head is no longer attached to its body.” Mal said, and everyone looked at him. “Jus’ sayin.”

Kaylee and Sam took off in the direction of Serenity while Zoe herded Jayne toward the kitchen. River came to stand next to Daniel, staring up into the slowly darkening sky. “Can’t see there from here,” she said.

“Where?”

“Earth what was. It’s lost.”

Daniel sighed. He liked the odd teenager, but something about her voice made his hair stand on edge. “I’d like to go back there.”

“Going back is painful. Memories and angry clouds. Ancestors are gone…descendents yet to come.”

He knew she’d been through some rough times, abuse at the hands of the authorities, but her voice, with its trembling cadence and sad lilt seemed to cut through to him. Somehow she came across as knowing everything and yet was really a vulnerable, sensitive child. “Those ancestors were my friends.” He was feeling the loss more today than in days past. Maybe he was admitting there was no going back.

They stood side by side for a time, staring up into the sky. “Four Hundred Sixty Eight.” River said. “Not 500. Might be important.”

Daniel looked at her funny, but nodded. “Okay.”

“Don’t be sad.” She took his hand, holding it between them.

“Everything I know is back there,” he said softly.

She turned to study him for a moment, her dark eyes guarded, but frank. “Not everything.” She pointed with her eyes to Kaylee and Sam standing on the ramp into Serenity’s cargo bay, then to Teal’c helping Zoe unpack the box of food while Jayne started separating it for cooking.

He smiled at the young girl. “No, not everything.”

 

Kaylee came to his tent that night smelling of engine grease and sweat. They couldn’t really spare the water for washing. She cleaned up using a damp rag, shedding her clothes, while he lay on the bed, watching her. “Zoe an’ Wash is out there talking about havin’ babies, again,” she said, glancing over her shoulder at him.

“I can’t picture Zoe pregnant.” Daniel said.

Kaylee smiled. “Jayne said she’d make Wash carry the baby.” She stopped the brushing of her hair and turned to look at him. “Have you ever wanted babies?”

“Me?” Daniel shifted, a little nervously. “I suppose…in an abstract sort of way.”

Kaylee hugged herself and danced a little. “I want a whole mess of ‘em. Kids everywhere, just like me and my brothers.”

He watched her pull her dress up over her head. Descendents, River had said. He shook his head. These were Earth’s descendants, and maybe he would be a part of them…maybe it was time to let go.

“’Nara should be back tomorrow,” she said as she pulled off her boots. “Them parts Zoe got should get your ship runnin.”

He sighed and rubbed his face. “That’s what Sam said.”

She came to him then, crawling across the bed until she could kiss him. “Don’t know as we can fix it so you can go back where you came from.”

Daniel nodded, his hands sliding up her arms. “I know.” That was part of his mood. He knew. This was the one time, there were no more miracles for SG-1 to pull out of their collective asses. This wasn’t like the time they’d ended up in the 60’s. They were no where near a stargate, earth was gone and even if the stargate still existed there, there was no going back.

He sighed and let his eyes meet hers. “We might just be stuck here.”

Her eyes danced, her smile infectious as she ran hands over his chest. “That wouldn’t be so bad, would it?” She dipped her head to kiss the skin on his chest, her tongue slipping between teeth to caress his nipple as she passed it.

He didn’t react, not until her hands passed under the blanket, moving over his thighs and then between, caressing his cock until it began to respond despite his mood. He gasped as she sucked on his left nipple while her hands tickled and cajoled him, and when he pulled her up to kiss her, it was a hungry, desperate kiss. Together they rolled until Kaylee was underneath him, guiding him into her as they groaned at the joined heat between them.

Daniel let go of the thoughts, the nibbling despair and lost himself in this familiar rhythm, in the warmth of a shared embrace. Kaylee’s back arched as he found the spot she loved, his pace quickening with her breathing until she was yelling out and grabbing his arms, pulling him deeper and encouraging him toward his own orgasm.

Daniel collapsed beside her, spent and emotionally wrung out. She curled into him, one leg sliding over his as if claiming him for her own, while her head came to rest on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. “No, not so bad,” he whispered, but she was already asleep and the only response he got was the sound of her light breathing.


End file.
